The Prodigal Son

Thoughts on a backslider

Luke 15:11-32

And
he said,
A
certain man had
two sons: And the younger of them said to his father, Father,
give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto
them his living. And not many days after the younger son
gathered
all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted
his substance with riotous living. And when he had spent all,
there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in
want. And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that
country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And
he
would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat:
and no man gave unto him. And when he came to himself, he
said,
How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and
to spare,
and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father,
and
will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before
thee, And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as
one
of thy hired servants. And he arose, and came to his father.
But
when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had
compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.
And
the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy
sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. But the
father
said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and
put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: And bring
hither
the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry:
For
this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.
And they began to be merry. Now his elder son was in the
field:
and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard musick and
dancing. And he called one of the servants, and asked what
these
things meant. And he said unto him, Thy brother is come; and
thy
father hath killed the fatted calf, because he hath received him safe
and sound. And he was angry, and would not go in: therefore
came
his father out, and intreated him. And he answering said to
his
father, Lo, these many years do I serve thee, neither transgressed I at
any time thy commandment: and yet thou never gavest me a kid, that I
might make merry with my friends: But as soon as this thy son
was
come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed for
him the fatted calf. And he said unto him, Son, thou art ever
with me, and all that I have is thine. It was meet that we
should
make merry, and be glad: for this thy brother was dead, and is alive
again; and was lost, and is found.

Luke
15:11-32

1 The prodigal: a
backsliding son

This passage of scripture
known as the 'Prodigal Son' is actually the third part of one
parable of the fifteenth chapter of Luke. The first two parts
being
that of the missing sheep and the missing coin. The common theme is
about those who are lost and then found, and that there is
great rejoicing
in heaven on the repentance of one sinner. ( vv7, 10 ).

There is one difference, however, with the record of the prodigal
son
and the other parts. In the case of the sheep and coin the
lost
items were actively searched for by the Shepherd and the woman; with
the son the father did not search for him, but rather he
waited
for him to return. What do we make of this then? We can
conclude
that this third part of the parable refers, not to
sinners
who have not known the way of salvation in the first place, but to a
backslider: one who leaves his father's house panders to the
lusts of the flesh before being laid low, coming to
his
senses and then returning home and finally being restored; the prodigal
was a son when he left the
home, and was
still a son when in the far country, and certainly when he returned.
The only difference was his relationship to his father at each stage.

We will, therefore, look at this part of the
parable from this point of view, that of a
backslider.

2. The prodigal, a
wasting
son

And the
younger
of them said to his father, Father,
give me the portion of goods that falleth to me. And he divided unto
them his living. And not many days after the younger son
gathered
all together, and took his journey into a far country, and there wasted
his substance with riotous living.

Lk.15:11-13

Just
read the
verses quoted, how
long did it take? Seconds? But look carefully at the events, they
unfolded over a long period of time. It would have taken time for the
son time to gather and leave home, to
have spent all the wealth; but,
and this is the first point, it would have taken time for the events
leading up to his demand for his inheritance. For a son to
come
to that point there must have been a history of events.

What the history was that led up to his demand to
leave we
are not
told. But consider: the son must have been fed up with his lot. He had
no lack, for all that his father had was his, as a son (
vv 31)
to enjoy, as the elder son was reminded. Perhaps he looked and
considered what those outside had, and desired it above his father's
provision. Perhaps he had known no other way, and wanted to
see what he was
missing. We are not told but he certainly saw that the grass was
greener on the other side. Over a period of time this
dissatisfaction would have grown until eventually it came to a head.
The
origin of his backsliding was there in his heart for sometime, and it
was only time
before it worked itself out into action.

The son wanted his inheritance now, he was
impatient, he couldn't wait
until the appointed time. The reason? So that he could use it all on
his own lusts. This son did not want to remain under his father's
authority, but rather wanted to live under his own power, controlling
his own goods without any outward restraint.

And the lesson? Backsliding doesn't come out of the
blue,
from
nowhere, there is always a history lurking in the background. Wanting
what the world can give, being dissatisfied with what our heavenly
Father provides, seeing that the grass is greener somewhere else,
thinking that we are missing out because we belong to the
Lord.
And of wanting to throw off the Father's authority in one's
life.

Is this
a description of you, dear reader? Then be warned, the seeds
of
backsliding are there already, and unless you repent they
will
germinate, grow, take root and take you away from your Lord. If this is
in your heart deal with it now before you find yourself in the far
country.

Having demanded and received his portion, the son left for a far
country; the father did not attempt to stop him but gave him his
request. The elder also received his due (which would be the 'double
portion') but he chose to stay with his father. So the son
went
into the far country; away far from his father, he outworked what was
in his heart. And there wasted his substance.

God will not stop you from going your own way, like he
allowed Israel to follow their paths, so if you insist he'll do so with
you. But beware! That chosen path will lead, like it did with Israel to
ruin. The son forgot what his father had already done for him: bringing
him into the world, feeding him, looking after him, caring for him at
every turn; his lusts drowned all those thoughts of home out
and forced him to follow
his own counsel.

They soon
forgat
his works;
they waited not for his counsel: But lusted exceedingly in
the
wilderness, and tempted God in the desert. And he gave them
their
request; but sent leanness into their soul.

Ps.106:13-15

Having taken control of one's own life with what God
has
given,
whether it be talents, money or
whatever, all is spent on one's own lusts in the far country.
All
to
the satisfying of the flesh rather than to fulfil the purpose
for
which God gave them. Is this true
of you? Have you forgotten that you have been bought with the precious
blood of Jesus? Have you forgotten His care and provision for you
already? Have you allowed your lusts drown out all these thoughts of
what God has done? Have you wasted what God has given you? If
so
then turn round and come back to your heavenly
Father now.
Waste no more time nor substance on riotous living in the far country,
instead return to the one who died for you. You can be still going
along to 'church' and be in the far country, for this is
a condition of heart. How is it with you reader?

3. The prodigal: a
returning son

And when he had spent all,
there arose a mighty famine in that land; and he began to be in
want. And he went and joined himself to a citizen of that
country; and he sent him into his fields to feed swine. And
he
would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat:
and no man gave unto him. And when he came to himself, he
said,
How many hired servants of my father’s have bread enough and
to spare,
and I perish with hunger! I will arise and go to my father,
and
will say unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before
thee, And am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as
one
of thy hired servants. And he arose, and came to his father.

Lk.15:14-20a

After
he
spent all! This son
had to learn the hard way, Could he not see the problems
ahead as
his resources dwindled? Or was he so concerned for the
present that he
was blinded to it all? Sometimes God has to let people go to
the
extremes before they come to their senses. How
long
it took before the son came to this point we are not
told. Common sense tells us the more he had the
longer it
would be
before his substance would have been spent. And when it was
spent, there arose a famine. Where were his friends? Those with whom he
had enjoy the 'high life' - all gone! He was totally alone. And he had
to feed with the swine, that which was abominable to any Jew. Then and
only then he came to himself and realised how foolish he'd been. He
repented, turned round, and returned to his father.

What about you reader? Are you now in the far country; are you
'resources' running out? Or has it all gone, and those whom you
considered friends have now left you. Perhaps you are doing that which
you previously considered an abomination, that which you never thought
in your wildest dreams you would even touch. You have been
brought low, stripped of everything. Are you in this position
now? Then it's time to come to your self and consider your position.

Think of what you had in the heavenly Father's house; think of the
love, Joy and peace that was yours in the Holy Spirit, and now consider
how wretched your state is! All is not lost, even now you can
come to you senses and return to your Father. Swallow your pride and
turn back to the one who died for you.

4. The prodigal, a
restored son

But
when he was yet a great way off, his father saw him, and had
compassion, and ran, and fell on his neck, and kissed him.
And
the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy
sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. But the father
said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and
put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: And bring
hither
the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry:
For
this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.
And they began to be merry.

Lk.15:20b-24

His
father
didn't seek
him,
but waited. At times it is necessary to leave alone until people see
sense for themselves; indeed here is a case of not being able to put a
wise head on young shoulders! But think how painful it was for his
father. Day in day out, weeks, months if not for years his father would
be
thinking of his errant son. Enduring the pain of one who had
gone
astray. Wondering why he had thrown away all that he had; why
he
preferred the grass on the other side of the fence, when all that he
needed was there at home! Friend, if you are a backslider consider not
just you own state, but what pain you have caused to your God.

But on returning the father ran out, met him and restored him
to
his rightful position. How he loved him! What rejoicing we see at the
prodigal's return! Not just a welcome but the whole household made
merry
( except the elder son, but that's another consideration) He
had
no right to expect this welcome, but his father could do no less. The
one who waited all that time couldn't wait any longer when he
saw
him afar he just got up and ran to welcome him home.

And God is the same, waiting for the errant child who has gone off on
his own. What about you? You may fear the consequences of returning,
you may feel unworthy, but
God is full of compassion and mercy;
He is more willing to forgive than you are to return. All He wants is
for you to come to your senses and return to Him, the one who bought
you with His own blood, at such a terrible cost to Himself. Just turn
now, repent and return the bishop of you soul.

If we confess
[=acknowledge]
our sins, He is faithful
and just to forgive us our sins, and to
cleanse us from all unrighteousness.